


FebuWhump2021 Day 6: Hostage Situation

by startrekkingaroundasgard



Series: FebuWhump2021 [6]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Blood, Guilt, Gunshot Wounds, Hostage Situations, Murder, Regret, Terrorism, impossible choices
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29083539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekkingaroundasgard/pseuds/startrekkingaroundasgard
Summary: Caught in a terrorist attack, Bobbi waits for her moment to escape and get her fellow hostages to safety. However, it doesn’t go to plan and a woman dies for her failure.
Series: FebuWhump2021 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156145
Kudos: 3





	FebuWhump2021 Day 6: Hostage Situation

Bobbi gritted her teeth as the plastic ties cut into her wrists. For a moment, she considered that they’d secured her so tightly because they knew who she was but a brief glance down the line of hostages – office workers, innocent members of the public, even a poor child – were all zipped equally tightly.

The masked men paid their hostages little attention, too busy setting up explosives around the room. They spat in the faces of any hostages that dared even tremble. Those that had wept, or god forbid cried, had been brutally knocked out with the butt of a pistol. These men were brutal and Bobbi couldn’t allow them to continue spreading terror. She wouldn’t let them hurt anyone else.

She’d counted seven in total, although there may have been another casing the perimeter; her line of sight to the far corner was blocked. Their weaponry was high spec so they were probably backed by an angry billionaire or several, shyer members of the government. They didn’t speak as they worked, systematically setting a ring of C4 around the building and blocking off the exits.

All the exits except one, Bobbi noted.

Maybe they hadn’t seen it. It was obviously an old entrance, covered over when the building was last renovated but not removed entirely. A fire escape, probably. If she could distract these terrorists, there was a chance that the other hostages could make it out alive. Better her trapped in here than them.

Leaning into the woman by her side, Bobbi whispered, “On your left, you see the crack in the wall?” She nodded. “It’s a door. On my mark, run. I’ll distract them. Pass the message down.”

Her blue eyes went wide but, brave as anything, she pressed her lips together and nodded in understanding. It took a few minutes for the message to reach the far end of the line but soon all of the hostages understood what they had to do.

Slowly, Bobbi crawled behind the table and hid in the shadows. She lifted her arms above her head then, elbows out, thrust them down to her stomach. The cable tie snapped. Wasting no time, Bobbi jumped to her feet and lingered behind a large column for the nearest masked man to approach. She covered his mouth and crushed his throat with her arm. He was a large man but she was stronger than she looked and he crumpled against her a few moments later. Bobbi set him on the ground and crept around to the next man.

This pattern continued until three men were down. As she approached the fourth, everything fell apart.

The masked man drew his gun and fired off a shot. Not quite fast enough, the bullet grazed Bobbi’s shoulder. She hissed through gritted teeth but didn’t let it stop her. Sprinting across the room, she leapt off the wall and wrapped her legs around his head, used her weight to slam him into the ground.

He was a scrappy fighter, large and heavy hitting. It didn’t matter, though. Bobbi was faster. She scrambled around their equipment, put a little space between them, but then heard a gun click against her skull. She stilled immediately.

Rough hands pulled her arms behind her back as the hard barrel of the gun was pressed against her flesh. She could have broken free but knew it was better to wait for another opening than risk a bullet to the head.

The leader of the gang didn’t rush to meet her. He finished mounting the charge to his explosive device and only then, once it was properly prepared, did he finally come to her. “There’s always one.”

The man shook his head, his disappointed tone barely masking the absolute glee beneath it. He grabbed Bobbi’s chin, gloved fingers digging into her skin. Too gently, they slid down her neck before tightening, slowly squeezing the life out of her. Bobbi gasped for breath as bright sparks flickered across her vision but it only made it worse.

She glared at the man, his blurry smirk all she saw as the darkness clawed at her consciousness. Her body grew hot. A pounding in her skull drove her further and faster into the shadows. Her lungs were on fire when suddenly cold air rushed. She gulped in the oxygen, furious tears dripping from her eyes.

The man laughed and Bobbi tried to croak out a sharp retort, but all that left her lips was a harsh cough. He grabbed her jaw once again, dragging her skin against her teeth, and said softly, “I’ll have to kill one of them now.”

“No!” Bobbi flung her weight backwards and flipped the man over her head. Pieces of wood flew through the air, scratched her skin and embedded a few sizeable splinters, as he smashed through the desk but two of his co-conspirators were on her before she had the chance to escape.

Fire burst across her cheek as the leader curled his fingers, the leather stretching across each joint, no doubt preparing for a second slap. He pulled a pistol from his holder and pointed it at the line of hostages. Some responded with fear, burying their faces in the necks of strangers. Others were defiant, a few met Bobbi’s gaze with anger and accusation. They were right too. This was her fault.

“You can pick, if you prefer. Who dies because you wanted to be the hero?”

Met with her silence, the man shrugged. “Fair enough. I guess I’ll pick.”

Bobbi flinched as the shot rang throughout the building. She watched the young woman’s crumple to the ground, her bright red blood pooling around her. Other terrified hostages scuttled away but a few were too traumatised to even manage that. Bile rose in Bobbi’s throat. It wasn’t the first execution she’d witnessed but this was the first time it was directly her fault. She might as well have pulled the trigger herself.

She pulled away from the cold, leather gloves that trailed down her cheek, the light and gentle touch somehow mocking her failure. “Do I have your full attention?” Bobbi nodded stiffly. “Good. Why don’t we start at the beginning. Tell me, who exactly are you?”


End file.
